Supporting a national dialogue on the climate change science needs of Indigenous communities

Indigenous communities are custodians of a wealth of knowledge about Australia’s weather and climate. Indigenous knowledge systems provide invaluable experience relevant to contemporary challenges and can complement and benefit the Hub’s research and impact based on scientific knowledge systems. Similarly, the Hub’s research program has the capacity to supplement traditional weather and climate knowledge.

To facilitate this exchange of knowledge and information, we supported a forum for Indigenous peoples to come together to provide recommendations regarding what climate change information, capacity building and forms of engagement they see as being of greatest value.

More than 50 traditional owners from across Australia met in Barmah, Victoria in November 2018 to share observations, talk about priorities and explore opportunities to improve knowledge of climate change and its risks for people and country.

Importantly, the two-way dialogue between researchers and traditional owners working on climate change helped improve the understanding of mutual goals and potential benefits from working together to support the community’s climate information needs.